Promoter

Well, Rude gave Warrior some of his best matches, so he had to be doing something right

That's true and maybe just maybe the Pete Rose thing was just a gag on the baseball hof and a publcity stunt for Mania last year.

If it's a life story type thing I wonder if Vince will put that Owen stuff in there This title just doesn't sound like a good idea the more I think about it if they do add his match history on the discs. It will overshadow what he really did and just make him out to be a screwed wrestler in history.

I think they will be on there by default because Hogan's biggest matches were with them barring Warrior/Savage/DiBiase/Andre. Then again is it the actual induction or just some video special? I think Piper should get his due too. He was that big during Hogan's hey day.

It won't be like RAW X because that was just a disaster giving fake praise to stuff like the ladder match Kane won being the greatest match ever on RAW. They didn't even really go past 1998 as well. With the legends they can at least give praise for what they really have done. Besides I bet we see some angles(promos) involving Orton with his dad and so on to build more for Mania.

If Spike does air this ceremony I think it's a good move. (prowrestling.com)

I don't think the notion of Taker actually possibly losing is bad for the interest of the match though. JBL winning will mean he has killed the only top face left on the smackdown roster he hasn't defeated. It will hurt the wwe imo. I don't think the chase in this scenario is a good idea. Don't bother with the tag team titles I say. It won't help the quality and won't draw since we see those damn matches every week on tv anyways unless they do some kind of heel turn with Eugene. Keep the tag titles on Rey and Eddie and have them face each other as champs because that has more drama.

I'm going to have to agree with the statement that UT losing at this Mania will just piss off people and spoil the event for some especially if they do it before the two title matches with one of the new faces losing. This is one card where I think it's best that the faces should go over. HHH/JBL winning or UT losing or any other variation will just spoil everything since the new faces aren't exactly Rock and Austin. They have to send the fans home happy this year to make up for the card's quality. HBK/Angle might surprise, but I agree that Angle is really over-rated and HBK is not in 1995-1996 mode obviously. If this was 2002 Kurt Angle and 1995 HBK that would be a different story.

I never made that connection with HBK's cover mag and title reign flopping(Bret sure as hell didn't help with his constant remarks). You know, til this day some of my more markish friends think HBK's gay and is HHH's lover FOR REAL. Kahran Ramsus that segment you are talking about is actually with HHH right before the HIAC match on the free for all ppv show. Unless you are speaking about another incident which makes it even worse. I mean I think this does have some merit because I can't exactly see Austin being in a gay mag and actually explaining to his fans why it's okay. It would have hurt his image in 1998 for sure.

I've been seeing all over the internet that the build up has been pretty weak and whatnot. I agree somewhat, but I also think there are more lingering factors surrounding this sentiment. I don't mind celebrities added to the event, but I also don't think it's the big reason for the lack of sizzle thus far. You know speaking about the magic of WrestleMania I still don't think they have matched the original and the third installment yet in that terms. Ironically, last night on CP24 here in Toronto there is a flashback news show that comes on every night and guess what??? This episode had WrestleMania as its big story to open up the show. It was hyped and showed at the last segment. I mean it was a good 3-5 minute piece and showed Hogan and Mr. T "training" in California and Manhattan. They showed Piper, Orndorff, and Orton training as well. It was so strange watching it because it was hyped as the biggest event in the history of professional wrestling. There was a Maple Leaf Garden PR guy who claimed the tickets sold out in record time for the closed circuit showing at the arena and it was being broadcast in other areas of the country and worldwide. Guys, I also remember WM 3 getting all over the media in North America too. That is the difference with WM back then and now. Even the mainstream press picked it up. WM XX with all its hype failed to do that. I mean the whole thing on the news was surreal with Ali, Billy Martin, and Liberace clips. At one time Piper said that WM went downhill after the first one in terms of gaining mainstream press and seeing that last night I can't argue with him. WrestleMania III hardly had any "A-listers". The match ups of Hogan/Andre, Steamboat/Savage, and Piper/Adonis were the draws. The early WM cards just had a lot more sizzle to it backed with the steak. It's not just about the celebrities because WM 11 proved that. They stacked that show and it still flopped because the personalities and match-ups with the wrestlers sucked for the most part. WM 14 actually was the closest to the early Mania shows in terms of hype and sizzle with Mike Tyson. Austin and HBK pretty much delivered and Rock/Shamrock had some appeal to it as well. It set the tone for the next couple of years just as the early Mania shows did. The matches make Mania and the celebrities were just the icing on the cake. I think Mania really has missed this "magic" ever since WM 17 in Houston with the heel turn of Austin. The build up for that Mania also sucked, but no one remembers that. The Rock/Austin storyline made no sense when you take into account Debra. However, it was Austin's big return for the title after that year long injury in his homestate, so it was hard to screw up. Not to mention it had HHH/Taker. WM 18's saving grace was the charisma of Hogan and Rock in the dream match(and it was). WM XX was very good, but it's already basically meaningless. Luckily, Chris Benoit's long winding road to the top is its saving grace. However, no one has really been elevated and that is why some look at this year's event without the same vigor. As I stated with WM 18 and Hogan/Rock saving it, the wwe is still pushing guys that were getting stale at the event in top matches like HHH(whom I actually like). It all seems like the same thing, but they are trying perhaps with Cena and Batista to catapult the two divisions. I know they couldn't help the Brock Lesnar and Angle situations though, but in all honesty their personalities just don't have the sizzle of vintage wwe superstars. The problem is much bigger than them booking WM this year. The big problem is the wwe not giving REAL pushes and sustaining those pushes where fans can have faith in new stars. There has also been too much heeldom running wild on both brands in the last couple of years. It's hard to get excited over that after a while. The matches aren't actually that horrible with the shifted changes, but it's making people believe guys like Orton, Batista, and Cena really are vintage wwe stars. That's why I think some of these matches aren't interesting to people, but when you look at the characters and the stories IT SHOULD be more interesting. The wwe for once might be actually BUILDING the company again with Mania. JBL/Cena=most dominant champion with the wwe title since Diesel in 1995 against Cena who was also a dominant second tier champion who was robbed by the major champion. This storyline to build the match is actually good. Problem: The fans DON'T BUY JBL as a real champion and the wwe didn't do JBL any favours with the way he won the title after being in the midcard 4 life. JBL also doesn't have one REAL victory over someone fans think is a real threat or had any real championship history except Taker(who sucked as champion anyways). Ironically, HHH would have worked much better. However, JBL's character SHOULD complement Cena's character perfectly. Cena also sort of had the same problem because his dominating reign came at the hands of beating people like Kenzo. His Booker T series sucked and he got bad luck with Carlito. Cena imo has to win the title or he will look like a choker and at this stage he is not that established to accept a loss in a big match situation like this. JBL's reign of terror is hurting the whole smackdown roster because of his recent past as a tag team midcarder. No matter how he is improving he still has that stigma because he was in that position just last year at this time. Batista/HHH=good so far and I actually think Batista can't afford to lose this match either for the same reasons as John Cena. These are the only two guys that fans really are behind that have some kind of charisma that can catch on with the mainstream. As been stated by some here that feel Batista might not be ready he does need to win because losing here with everyone behind him might pigeonhole him as a flash in the pan. Angle/HBK=goodness and is the best they can do now in terms of matching the dream matches of past Mania cards. Orton/Taker=best use for both men with everything considered. Orton was a flop plain and simple as a face. Regardless of the booking. His edge was the Legend Killer gimmick and the best way to use that at Mania is to put him against Undertaker with his winning streak of course. Undertaker would have been useless in a tag match and a wasted opportunity to pimp the win streak for Mania as a selling point. If Orton and the wwe didn't screw up the face turn he could have been heading into Mania defending or regaining the title from HHH, but that just isn't a good idea anymore. If his face turn had any strong points he should also be credible in being a threat to Taker's streak, but everyone(rightfully so) is screaming bloody murder if he ends Taker's streak because his credibility is shaky. Some of this is wwe's fault, but what could they do otherwise with Orton to continue his main event level push at this moment without making him face a midcarder and seeming like a failure at the top? The Ladder Match puts all the top workers on RAW into one match instead of stupid matches like Hassan/Daiviri against Benoit/Jericho. They also put a stipulation on that doesn't telegraph exactly who the winner might be. Big Show vs. Akebono is going to have to improve with the build with some Akebono footage, but they are going for the freak of nature old school draw here that Andre's matches use to have. The problem is Big Show has been booked flippety flop over the years and doesn't seem anywhere the star Andre use to be. Hogan/Hassan if it happens will be the perfect guy for Hassan to work off because of Hogan's legit legend status and if it turns out to be Hogan's last match Hassan has that under his belt. I don't think the character he is playing would get any heat stronger with the mainstream than with Hogan in the current landscape. Hopefully, he can use that to make him identifiable with fans in the future. Rey vs. Eddie will make up for the smackdown side for workrate as the RAW side has the ladder match. They are puttinig the cruiserweights on display. The matches in temselves aren't that bad, but it's the star power and positioning of the players. The wwe has the same problem they ran into in 1992 and that was not making the newer stars(Bret, HBK, Undertaker, and Sid on the level of Hogan, Flair, and Piper) seem relevant and strong. That hurt them for a few years 9-13 and the wwe did it again with 18-20. Benoit and Guerrero should have already been huge stars by last year and they pushed them as a last line of thinking last year. Their legs were cut off from 2001. Piper on Austin's Pit will add some nice entertainment and draw in their fans who have stopped watching. They did not do this with the "new generation" in 1995 by ignoring the old school guys like Piper and Hogan. The HOF is also a good tool.

You know this is funny because The Rock was on BET and tried to explain to the host AJ and Free why he was on the cover. Free(female) really wanted to know what Rock was doing on there as if she was upset that her fantasies were for naught. AJ said he knew he was going to be on the show and wanted to pick it up, but didn't want to get ridiculed in the store or have rumours start about him. Maybe Orton is just following Rock again

I watched that triple threat from Mania last year and I kind of have to agree the match is over-rated along with the moment when compared to other other world title matches in WM history. I can say in terms of moment and historical significance WM 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 blow it away. Hogan slamming the "undefeated Andre the Giant", Macho winning 4 times in one night, Hogan regaining the title to tie Sammartino at the time, Warrior upsetting Hogan, and Savage/Flair is much more Mania style than last year's event. This is all my opinion of course "and I'm sticking to it"(R.I.P. Mr. Perfect).

Simple solution. Have Cena and Batista stare each other down to end the show. See who the fans latch onto more. It's the Austin/Goldberg and Hogan/Flair debate for the new millennium. Now the only problem with this is if the fans are that into them which is well not happening within a month to say the least.

You guys forgot one category: Managed the only wrestler to lose to a retired football player in the main event of WrestleMania. You can't win them all I guess JBL is becoming scary good on the mic though. The test comes when the title is not on him and he can't use that as a crutch.

Anorak I love that sig. DIG IT!!!! For a person that wasn't a wrestler The Lovely Elizabeth was insanely over back then too.

Okay, Meltzer kind of touched on this a few weeks ago when rumours were going around about Hogan coming in for the HOF. According to Meltzer some in the wwe felt that having Hogan have his last match would actually overshadow everything on the card. I mean all you have to do is look at Rock/Hogan at 18 to see why this might be a problem to ponder. Although Batista has come along well and he still will have heat, but Cena/JBL will certainly be overshadowed in the promotion. Having the match as a surprise won't take the shine away from the "main events". They will already have a problem with Cena with Orton/Taker. The long term effect will be Hogan pimping his last match and everyone caring about that over everything else. There is also this to consider. Hogan could be put into the midcard, but he is not midcard.

That's a good point about JR's commentary, but it is JR. He might be rambling off at the mouth. I agree that fans will just love to see Hogan do his thing, but that could also hinder the event because there is also probably the same amount of people in TV land who would not put money on Mania for this reason. I guess the bottom line is promoting Hogan/Hassan isn't the worst they can do. I'm just thinking more in line with surprising the masses for friggin once with something that is special. They screwed up with Goldberg at WM 19 imo. 18 didn't need it. 17 had Austin's heel turn(regardless of how things turned out). 16 had Triple H retaining. Tyson siding with Austin at 14(surprise to some general fans).

You have a point that maybe advertising the match will be more likely to increase the buy-rate, but I think it's easier to do a short 5 minute sports entertainmentized match without kind of ripping fans off. You know Hogan and Hassan will be terrible past the 5 minute mark and even reaching that mark is pushing it. Hogan was pretty weak in the ring with Vince Mcmahon 2 years ago and that was before that last injury Hogan got with his hip. I think in this instance an impromptu match will create a situation that will satisfy the fans that spend $50 for the event. They haven't given fans a surprise of this magnitude in forever. It use to happen all the time during the monday night war era. They've got Piper and Austin doing Piper's Pit to help draw "big name type fans".

I disagree. They may actually get more buys out of the replays from doing this. The big money return match happened already with The Rock at WrestleMania 18. They stand a better chance of creating a WrestleMania moment by doing the impromptu match. That way down the line people will know "anything can happen" especially at the biggest event. Hassan is a cheap version of Iron Shiek at the moment. The fans will want Hogan to win and he should if it's his last match to finish his career. The fans being told it's Hogan's last match again won't be believable. He's made a million comebacks as it is. Hassan has more to lose by jobbing to Hogan in a scheduled match. Hassan can survive losing an impromptu match and then challenging Hogan for a rematch where Hogan claims he is retired. Hassan can go off that post Mania.

Dibase is apart of one of the biggest angles in history that led to the main event of WM 4. He was not manufactured to be in the spot like JBL was. He was put there because he was a damn good heel. Virgil/Andre/Dibase triangle puts JBL's cabinet to shame. He's basically doing Dibase's schtick anyways. Dibase was the top heel with the exception of Andre in 1988 and Randy Savage in 1989. A time when the company was red hot. JBL is a top heel of a split roster and doing horrible numbers in comparison.

You know, this would actually be pretty entertaining. If they do the match it should go down like this. They can't lose.

Ted Dibase financially backing JBL's cabinet? That would be funny and entertaining, but you know how this creative staff is. Hopefully, Steamboat and Dibase can help with the match quality.

You know I've been saying the wwe should actually run this new blood vs. establishment angle with the two brands. At least it will make the damn split exciting and seem meaningful for viewers for once. They can't shake up the two shows TOO much, but here is what I would do. To RAW: John Cena with the WWE Title Bradshaw and put him in Evolution Kurt Angle and put him in Evolution Cena up against the old establishment of the wwe calling themselves Evolution would be quite ironic. Bradshaw and Angle actually fit the suit wearing Evolution, but of course both aren't the present or future. Give Cena the Austin/Hogan/Warrior push as champ and see if he is indeed the future. Having him feud with these three heels must work. Evolution's original concept has run its course. That deals with the main event scene for the summer until SummerSlam and have Triple H job out to Cena if they are serious about making him #1. Bring Rey Mysterio to RAW as he would stand out and not have the cruiserweight thing bogging him down. He can toil in the IC division with the likes of Benjamin. Add Haas to RAW as well for this reason. That's 5 big moves to RAW. To Smackdown: Shawn Michaels(I mean there really is no explanation for this obvious one) Chris Jericho (another obvious one) Batista(takes the world strap to Smackdown) Christian (he is jobber a la supreme on raw now) Randy Orton(turn him heel against Taker and HBK) The first two guys will increase the workrate and have gems with guys like Eddie Guerrero. Batista can reign without the fear of Triple H winning it back because you know the whole world is going to suspect that. Guys like Michaels and Jericho can turn heel against him. Orton can be his foil as well. Christian can do well for the US division. I don't like to bash Triple H "as much" as the net, but he is kind of a cancer because he is the only real heel that fans believe can win back his title at anytime and he usually does. This causes fans to be wary about investing into a top face. If they have Cena go gangbusters with the box office I would like to see how Triple H can convince his father in-law to take the title off him and put it back around his waist. Another thing is that Triple H will be away from the big gold belt which he is trying to establish as his belt as Flair once did. They can't book stuff like they did last year with Triple H still being the top star even though he isn't the champion. It's counter-productive, but we know the chances of this happening are.

I'm in the camp that feels Cena and Batista have to win. I think some are starting to latch onto JBL's title reign because it's finally something different in terms of its length. They made JBL have this long reign for a reason and that is to put Cena over. It was already rumoured that Vince wanted JBL to reign until SummerSlam and also wanted Rock vs. JBL at Mania(which is contradicting that contract b.s. imo). They pushed the plans up for Mania. Add in the fact that it was originally planned for Orton and Cena to switch brands alledgedly. As for Triple H doing two straight jobs at Mania, all I have to say is the man thinks long term and I bet he gets a monster win at next year's event. Then you have to consider the rumoured matches of Orton/Taker and Hassan/Hogan where both veterans might job and you can't have Triple H retaining in the damn main event. That will SPOIL Mania in fans' eyes. It worked in 2000 because it was the element of surprise and quite frankly they needed Triple H to become a star with Big Show flopping, Foley retiring , and Rock leaning towards hollywood. You see sometimes the HHHate is not warranted and that instance it wasn't.

The HTM title reign is not dead if things are in order for it to work. People are forgetting WHY the reign worked so well. Hulk Hogan was the super face heavyweight champion that the heels went up against. There were also big time faces like Randy Savage, Jake the Snake, Ricky Steamboat, and believe it or not Brutus Beefcake. None of these guys could get a title shot against Hogan and going up against HTM the fans had their chance to cheer for them to get a title. HTM sent all these challengers packing gaining heat. I think if this was done in the heavyweight division it would not work because it would have killed all the top faces. Imagine HTM retaining and going over Hogan in a feud in 1987 or 1988. The fans would eventually stop watching.